This blog post originally started as a comment to Ahotaku's post which was written last year but still manages to stay relevant anyways. I realized that it was getting longer and I'm unsure of her settings. I don't want my response to be filtered out. I can say that some of the points she brought up have some truth to them. The problem is, she's presenting it like it's a fact which it wasn't. I think that's dangerous because she would sound reasonable at one point and then express inconsideration in the next couple of sentences. I could see why there are a lot of people who agree with her on the comment section. I have to admit that I agreed with her to some extent but I was aware that the huge part of her argument is hateful, discouraging and discrediting.
Here are some things I found extremely displeasing about her entry:
When I read this, I hoped that in exchange for asking people to respect her opinion, she would present her two-cents in a respectful manner as well. This was not the case.
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I understand that there are people out there who just throw a costume on and end up looking horrible. I agree that's annoying especially if you're one of the people who spend the money and take the time to look good. But when I see a cosplayer who's appearance is not up to my standards, I just look away. I always think that I am in no position to assume how much work they put into their costume. Just because it looks unappealing to me, doesn't mean that they have not worked on it. Maybe it's their first time sewing something. Maybe the wig is too small or too heavy that it keeps slipping off their heads. Maybe their skin is reacting differently to the makeup they used.
Alright, let's say that person really did not put any effort at all. So what? Just look away and forget about it. Enjoy the convention by filtering out the cosplayers you find unappealing. I don't see how commenting on those people and talking crap about them is going to do anything aside from the fact that it just makes you disgraceful for being mean to someone.
Going back to the quote above, the most disturbing thing about it is that she's okay with people being discrediting or unappreciative. However, she finds people, who made effort but are unsuccessful in looking attractive, very offensive. Make-up can only do so much and losing weight (or gaining it) is not that easy. Should it stop you from enjoying this hobby? Absolutely no.
Cosplaying is not a job. If a company hires someone to dress up to promote their product, then that's a different story. Point is, cosplayers are not getting paid for their efforts. They spend their own money and time on making their costumes. They are not obliged to fulfill anyone's expectations. They are attending the convention just like everybody else.
I put it this way. I'm into fashion and when I see someone on the street dressed in an ensemble that I think didn't look good for him/her, it doesn't ruin that fashion for me. So how can a bad cosplay ruin a character you love?
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I commend Ahotaku if she really does this. What I don't understand is that if she feels that keeping remarks to herself is the way to do it, then why didn't she advocate that? Instead, she tolerated the mean people in the community.
People are judgmental. We all know that. In fact, I am guilty of the same thing she mentioned above. I judge people, but only in my head. Instead of focusing on the bad, I would compliment them on the good. Or if it's really bad, I would offer some advice on how to make it better.
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In this quote above, she talks about how some certain characters call for certain features like a buff build for Cloud etc. Instead of telling cosplayers to give up because they cannot exactly look like a character, why not educate the "OTHER PEOPLE" not to hate too much?
It seems that she's coming from this point of view: The world is harsh so in order to protect yourself, just hide in a corner and not show yourself to anyone. I don't think that's the way to go. I think that the world is harsh and we should keep making an effort educating ignorant people so that we can live in a world with more kindness and respect. We should make effort to change society towards progress instead of tolerating hate.
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Cosplaying is a hobby, just like she said herself. I have hobbies for my own enjoyment. When I cosplay, I cosplay for myself. When I draw or read books or blog, I do it for myself. I don't understand why she makes it sound like it's all about pleasing an audience.
"Vicious"? How is being confident about yourself and not caring about the haters a "vicious routine"? I think hating on people is the vicious routine here.
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I'll give the part in bold some credit. Personally, I do my best to find a character that I would look good cosplaying. But that's my personal choice. To people out there who don't care and just want to cosplay a character they're in-love with, kudos to you!
I'll also give her credit for naming some characters that would work on people with specific features. She should have done more of this than advising people who aren't "pretty" to just give up.
"You're doing yourself more harm than good"? Maybe. We all know that putting yourself out there is hard and just like Jessica Walsh said in her post, even if you're Jessica Nigri or Yaya Han, people are going to find something to hate on. You cannot please everyone. So, I can kind of understand this statement but I don't think it's guaranteed that you're only going to destroy yourself if you put yourself out there. I wasn't very confident with myself either. I thought people would not like my cosplay at all because I'm too short or tan for the character or because I'm not pretty enough. But no, there are still people who appreciated my cosplay and that helped me to become much more confident.
"You're doing other people more harm than good"? This one just did not make sense to me. How can bad cosplay do other people harm? Does seeing things you don't like cause eye cancer now? Because if that's true, then I should've died already with all the badly directed films, carelessly coordinated OOTDs, and poorly written books that I've seen.
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I honestly think that haters are going to hate no matter when and where you are. In or out of the cosplay community. But that does not mean that we should tolerate them.
I believe that the world is harsh because people can be ignorant and unhelpful. I'd like to think that Ahotaku wrote this post in order to save people from the drama of being bashed by haters. However, instead of taking the side of haters, I would rather educate them that cosplayers do it for passion and that con attendees should not feel entitled to "good" cosplay. It's all subjective anyways. Some people do care about someone's weight or face. Other's just want to see a character they like cosplayed. Some are just amazed that a cosplayer even pulled off a crazy prop.
Also, if there's anyone who deserves to be shamed, it's those people rude enough to express their hateful remarks out in the public. Those people do not contribute anything to the community or to the society. At least, cosplayers who took the time to attend the convention in costume achieved something. Whether it's learning how to sew or meeting people who like the same things they do, that's a great deal more productive than people who just hates on others.
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There is a difference between being rude and honest. And just because you don't want to sugarcoat doesn't mean you're free to disrespect someone. It's not one thing or the other. You can be honest and still be helpful and respectful. To me, a criticism's function is to point out and correct what was done wrong. If the "criticism" was in no way helpful, then it's just being rude.
To better illustrate what I mean, here's a breakdown:
What I understood from the post
The cosplay community is judgmental and harsh so if you're not pretty or don't have the money or don't know how to make props and costumes, then you're not welcome here. Expect to be hated on and if you cannot deal with that, then don't even touch this hobby. If you are strong enough to brush off haters, you're committing a crime to this hobby anyways because really, this is just for the pretty, light-skinned, and not-fat people.
Sugarcoated
Everything is going to be fine and you're beautiful no matter what and everyone's going to love your cosplay!
How I would have written it
Putting yourself out there is a hard especially if you're just starting and trying to look like a stylized character. Here are some links to tutorials and work-out routines that might be of use! [insert set of helpful links]
Also, it's normal to come across people who might not appreciate your cosplay but that's ok! The cosplay community is huge and I'm pretty sure you will find a group of people that you have a lot of common with.
See the difference? I'm not all for sugarcoating either but that doesn't mean that the only way left is to be mean and discouraging. I took the time to write this because I believe that she's doing a disservice to the cosplay community by making it sound that it's an elitist group of deliberately unmannerly people. That is not entirely true. Yes, haters do exist and they are everywhere. But so are amazing people who are educated enough to know that they are much better than judging someone for how they look.
Don't hate. Appreciate! And don't be discouraged! Cosplay and have fun!
And if you're going to Anime Expo, come by and say hi to me at my booth (table details to be shared later)! See you there!
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